Robert Bloch / Ben Bova / Algis Budrys / Avram Davidson / Samuel R. Delany / Joe L. Hensley / Keith Laumer / William Rotsler / Robert Sheckley / Robert Silverberg / Henry Slesar / Theodore Sturgeon / A. E. Van Vogt / Roger Zelazny / and Harlan Ellison all wrote stories in partnership with Harlan over the years. As you see they ranged from big names in SF to VERY big names in SF. It is an interesting gallery of miniatures. ( )

This book is a victim/beneficiary of its genre, its time, and its construct. The genre is science fiction. The time is the late 60’s to 1971. (There are a couple of earlier ones, but the overall feel of this collection fits what was going on in science fiction in that time period.) And the construct is that every piece is a collaboration between Harlan Ellison and another science fiction author.

In the late 60s and early 70s, science fiction was doing some very interesting things. A significant portion of those who worked in the genre were exploring what it meant to move away from hard sf and beginning to explore other literary approaches to writing. This resulted in some of the absolute best science fiction ever written. You can start with Dangerous Visions as one example, but just explore some of the award-winning stories of the time to get a taste. It also resulted in some of the most incomprehensible mish-mosh you’ve ever read. As an example, there were times I would read the stories included in Terry Carr’s Universe series and not have a clue what I had just hacked my way through. The series had some great writing, but also contained some truly unintelligible tripe.

Ellison was right there in the forefront of trying the new and different. (See, again, Dangerous Visions.) And Ellison was very good at it. He knew how to take the different approach and still maintain the skills of character, place, and storytelling. That means that every one of these stories has a chance. Unfortunately, each is drug down (to greater or lesser degrees) by the construct of collaboration.

Collaboration is tough. And the number of screaming successes within all of writing is a very low number.

The same holds true for this collection. There are some good stories. But a whole lot of perfectly okay ones. And one or two that really no one need bother with. (The less said about “The Kong Papers” the better.) It should also be noted that there are some interesting concepts within some of the stories. But, again, the collaboration seems to have taken away any chance for these to be used to their full effect.

In a number of the introductions, Ellison explains the approach for writing the story was for one author or the other to write for a while, pass it to then next author to write for a while, and then pass back and forth until it was done. One of both would then smooth it out. And then we have a finished project.

These seems to result in the authors “playing” at writing. It is almost as if the first author wants to lay out something absurd with the challenge “Let’s see what you can do with this one.” And the second responds “Watch this” and then “Let’s see you do something with this.”

That approach fits the time period. Many stories – many good stories – of the era have an absurdist feel. But it becomes even more apparent and less of a quality approach when two authors are at work trying to one up each other. And often, the stories just come off as trifles. Nice to read, fun to see what happens with the collaboration, but a nigh-on shaggy dog effect when all is said and done.

Of course, not every story was written this way. But, even when this approach wasn’t used, there is still the feeling that the very best of both authors was winnowed out of the finished project, just as the very worst was.

Maybe the proof of this is that two of the strongest pieces are not true collaborations. Instead, Robert Bloch wrote “A Toy for Juliette” for Dangerous Visions. Ellison was intrigued by the story and felt there was more to be told. He wrote “The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World”. Both are very good and very strong. And both are standalone stories written by one person.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not a collection of bad stories. As noted, Ellison is too good for that to have happened. However, none of the finished projects strike me as being Ellison at his best – or even the other authors at their best. Instead, they seem to reach an equilibrium – a melding that pulls good from both, but never greatness from either. ( )

As an avid admirer of Harlan Ellison, I was excited to find a cache of his books in fine to excellent condition at a used bookstore late last year. It was a rare and wonderful discovery, as I hardly ever find Harlan’s backlist in such a quantity in any single location.

Partners in Wonder was one of the books I found that day. It is an anthology of collaborative stories between Harlan and some of the most famous SF and speculative fiction writers of that Golden Age such as Ben Bova, Robert Silverberg, A.E. Van Vogt, Robert Bloch, and others.

While these may not be considered the best works from Harlan or his co-conspirators—which Harlan himself admits in one instance during his brief introduction to “The Power of the Nail”—there is a wide variety of tales that demonstrate the depth and breadth of these august scribes. All told, it is an entertaining collection.

Speaking of Harlan’s introductions, each story has one and I enjoyed being regaled by his recollections of how each collaboration was born as much, if not more in some cases, than the stories themselves.

My favorites yarns in the bunch include:

I See a Man Sitting on a Chair, and the Chair is Biting His Leg – written with Robert Sheckley

Up Christopher to Madness – written with Avram Davidson

The Human Operators – written with A.E. Van Vogt

Wonderbird – written with Algis Budrys

The Song the Zombie Sang – written with Robert Silverberg

Street Scene – written with Keith Laumer ( )

I was very tempted to list all the co-authors in this book as actual authors, using the tools provided by LT, but common sense prevailed. One of Ellison's more remarkable publications, these are each a work of collaboration, and with some very remarkable people. In order:

I See a Man Sitting on a Chair, and the Chair Is Biting His Leg (with Robert Sheckley)
Brillo (with Ben Bova)
a toy for juliette (with Robert Bloch)
the prowler in the city at the edge of the world (not a collaboration)
Scherzo for Schizoids: Notes on a Collaboration (same)
UP CHRISTOPHER TO MADNESS (with Avram Davidson)
RUNESMITH (with Theodore Sturgeon)
Rodney Parish for Hire (with Joe L. Hensley)
THE KONG PAPERS (with William Rotsler)
The Human Operators (with A. E. van Vogt)
Survivor #1 (with Henry Slesar)
the power of the nail (with Samuel R. Delany)
WONDERBIRD (with Algis Budrys)
The Song the Zombie Sang (with Robert Silverberg)
STREET SCENE (with Keith Laumer)
Come to Me Not in Winter's White (with Roger Zelazny)

The last is the best, for me. ( )

An unusual collection of short stories in which Harlan Ellison collaborated with another writer. Given his ego and temper, I'm amazed anybody of any consequence could have worked with him, let alone turned out anything decent. But this is a good collection of stories, and each one is preceded by a foreword explaining how the story was brought forth, and how the two creators worked together. Co-authors include Robert Bloch, Ben Bova, Samuel Delaney, Robert Silverberg, Theodore Sturgeon, A.E. Van Vogt, Roger Zelazny and others. One, "The Kong Papers", is a small collection of cartoons about King Kong. ( )